Drink Tech Asia 2012

The issue of water - its quality, its quantity and its guaranteed availability to all people regardless of income or social status is one of the most pressing challenges facing the world community today.

Seventy per cent of the Earth ’s surface is covered with water and yet there is an acute water shortage. This is because 97.5 per cent of it is salt water and almost three quarters of the freshwater is frozen in ice caps. Consequently, more than one third of the world ’s population that is 2.4 billion people has no access to clean water.

Indeed, the availability of clean, fresh water is one of the most pressing issues facing humanity today. Water is essential for health, agriculture, security, power generation, transportation as well as ecosystems. Furthermore, access to water is a human right as it is the most basic element of life.

Without safe drinking water, human beings cannot survive. Water-related diseases are among the most common causes of illness and death, and more than three million people die every year from disease caused by unsafe water. The majority of people affected by contaminated and unhealthy water live in developing countries.

The world now faces a critical situation regarding the sources of water. Statistical reports show that a fifth of the world ’s population does not have access to drinking water. Experts say that the world is going to face a severe problem regarding water in the next 20 years. Some say that the cause of the third world war could be shortage of water. This problem already prevails in some countries.

By consuming water excessively we are depriving the future generation from a resource, which is essential for life. Water pollution is another major cause of non-availability of drinking water. In order to conserve water, we need to spread awareness about the importance of fresh water. Once the world knows the dire situation it is in, it will try to conserve